melon
1. (Science: botany) The juicy fruit of certain cucurbitaceous plants, as the muskmelon, watermelon, and citron melon; also, the plant that produces the fruit.
2. (Science: zoology) A large, ornamental, marine, univalve shell of the genus Melo. Melon beetle A genus of cactaceous plants (Melocactus) having a fleshy and usually globose stem with the surface divided into spiny longitudinal ridges, and bearing at the top a prickly and woolly crown in which the small pink flowers are half concealed. M. Communis, from the west Indies, is often cultivated, and sometimes called Turk’s cap. The related genus mamillaria, in which the stem is tubercled rather than ribbed, and the flowers sometimes large.
Origin: F, fr. L. Melo, for melopepo an apple-shaped melon, Gr.; apple – a species of large melon; cf. L. Malum apple. Cf. Marmalade.
Dictionary > Melon
You will also like...

Genetic Information and Protein Synthesis
Genes are expressed through the process of protein synthesis. This elaborate tutorial provides an in-depth review of the..

Primitive Animals
Life, as we know it today, is presumed to have started in the sea and many of them were likely eukaryotic animal-like or..

Protein Activity and Cellular Metabolism
Proteins have a crucial role in various biological activities. Get to know how proteins are able to perform as enzymes, ..

Homeostatic Mechanisms and Cellular Communication
Homeostasis is the relatively stable conditions of the internal environment that result from compensatory regulatory res..

Animal Water Regulation
Animals adapt to their environment in aspects of anatomy, physiology, and behavior. This tutorial will help you understa..

Biological Viruses
Viruses possess both living and non-living characteristics. This unique feature distinguishes them from other organisms...